As he sang along with Owen, Evan found his love in the crowd, glowing with pregnancy and smiling the way she always did when they got to spend time with their closest friends and family. Deciding to stay home on Gansett for a while had been a good move for both of them, after a year of relentless touring in support of his hit song.
Grace had come out on the road with him and had stood by him through the wild ride of achieving success he’d only dreamed about before the song he’d written for her had become a massive hit. But she hadn’t been happy like she was now, surrounded by the best friends she’d ever had in the place that had become her home as much as his.
Soon, they’d welcome their first child, surrounded by all the people they loved best, and would get to raise him or her in a pack of cousins and friends who would grow up together.
Life was good and about to get better.
They finished the song and announced a ten-minute break. “We’ll be right back,” Evan said, “so don’t go anywhere.”
After they’d stashed their guitars, Owen extended his fist.
Evan bumped it. “Just like riding a bike to play with you.”
“I was scared. We hadn’t played together in a while.”
“I had no doubt we’d pick right up where we left off, the way we always do.”
“Feels like coming home to play with you.”
“Same, brother. Let’s go see what we’ve missed while we were up here.”
They went to join their wives, who’d ordered cold beers for them in anticipation of their break.
Evan put an arm around Grace. “How lucky are we, O?”
“The luckiest.” Owen kissed Laura. “Thanks for taking such good care of me.”
“Haha, we both know it’s the other way around,” Laura said.
“Who’s got your kids tonight, Laura?” Evan asked.
“They’re having a sleepover with the grandparents,” Laura said. “Thank God for Sarah and Charlie, who have them tonight—and Dad and Betsy. They’re always willing to take the hooligans to give their exhausted parents a night off.”
“I hope you weren’t planning on getting much sleep tonight,” Owen said with a dirty grin for his wife.
“Shut your face. There will be sleep or else.”
“Uh-oh, bro,” Evan said.
“Don’t worry,” Owen said with a cocky grin. “When push comes to shove, she’ll want what I want.”
“One more time, in case you missed it the first time,” Laura said, “shut your face.”
The others howled with laughter.
“You love when my face is open and pressed to your?—”
Laura put a hand over his mouth as he rocked with laughter. “I’m going to kill you.”
“You’d miss me.”
This was the shit Evan lived for with their friends and family. Laura was his first cousin and had grown up spending summers with him, his siblings and her brother, Shane. Those had been the best of times until they all grew up and got to do the rest of life together, too. All the McCarthy cousins had ended up on Gansett Island, which was just another reason to love being home.
Even the “babies,” Riley and Finn, had landed there and were loving life with Nikki and Chloe, their dad, Kevin, his second wife, Chelsea, their baby daughter, Summer, and another sibling on the way.
Evan took Grace’s hand and brought her with him when he went to say hi to their crew, sitting around one of the big circular tables. “What’s up, babies?” They hated when their older cousins called them that, which was what made it fun to trot out the dreaded nickname.
“You’re getting on in years, cousin,” Riley said. “I could drop you on your ass.”
